On Friday, January 23, 2026, the seminar “Caring in Times of Pandemic. Methodological Reflections” took place.
The session was delivered by Dolors Comas d’Argemir, Professor in the Department of Anthropology, Philosophy and Social Work at the Universitat Rovira i Virgili. She presented the main findings of her research on the gendered impact of the pandemic on caregivers of older and dependent people. The presentation addressed different spheres of care, including families, care homes, community-based services, domestic and care workers, and community initiatives that emerged during that period.
One of the central themes of the seminar was a reflection on the methodological challenges of conducting research in a pandemic context: how to carry out ethnography without face-to-face contact, how to analyze often contrasting or even opposing narratives, and how to recognize the social and political value of caring for older people. The session also opened up a discussion on the policies needed to guarantee the right to care and the importance of adopting a feminist perspective in the analysis of these issues.
The seminar prompted a rich discussion among attendees and highlighted the central role of care in social organization, as well as the need to continue exploring these issues from critical and interdisciplinary perspectives.
